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Reiki and Protection

“It is better to light one small candle than curse the darkness” Confucius

Will I be protected when I give Reiki?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions in my Reiki classes and in this weeks blog I will explain my own philosophy on the subject and the wider implications of holding onto the need for protection .

A quick search on google reveals opposing views on the subject. One camp firmly believing in the need for some additional measures to be taken in order to feel protected from outside energies and there are many inventive methods listed that claim to offer this. “Aura Shields, Reiki Bubbles, Earth Bound Spirit Flush”..Are just a small sample of what I have found.

The other camp believes Reiki requires no other protection than what it naturally affords. Hawayo Takata apparently held this belief and is quoted to have said, “Your Reiki power is like an aura, its a glow, and you are radiating out, and that energy is stronger than what can penetrate into you … no darkness can penetrate you”

A good place to begin is to look at what ‘the need for protection’ presupposes..

I am light and what I need protecting from is dark

I am positive and what I need protecting from is negative

I am good and what I need protecting from is evil

My personal boundaries need re enforcing

There are outside forces that can influence me negatively

Other peoples energy can get stuck in me

There are energy vampires that drain me

Reiki alone is not powerful enough to protect me

The Universe is polarised between dark and light

Dark forces are powerful

I am not safe

Two things strike me about this list, firstly how clearly it reflects a fearful state of being and secondly a deep need to re enforce personal boundaries. In Chakra theory we would narrow these two issues down to the psychological aspects of the base and sacral chakras. The base chakra is where we develop a grounded and trusting relationship to the physical Universe. The sacral chakra is where we develop a sense of self worth and learn to enforce healthy boundaries.

I am a great believer in the idea that the world is simply a reflection of our present projections upon it. Could it then be that the need to protect oneself from perceived external threats, is simply a reflection of our own inner cognitions and beliefs? When we strip down and analyse the need for protection, we can begin to see it as something we feel the need to do inside our own minds in order to feel more comfortable with our external experience. Visualising a sphere of light around ourselves or a Reiki shield is done using the imagination within the mind after all.

Were we to realise the way we experience the outside world the whole time, is a direct result of our present state of mind, wouldn’t it just be simpler to change our way of thinking instead? Surely the more we focus on our discomfort with different spectrums of energy and emotion, the greater the need to protect ourselves from them. What if we challenged the belief that there was something ‘out there’ that we needed to protect ourselves from? Targeting the fundamental core belief that we are unsafe would mean that we could meet different energies that we encounter daily with curiosity and explore the way they make us feel without moving into fear of what they might do to us.

In my classes I say, ‘the only thing you need protecting from is yourself’. This is because it is your own thoughts about a situation that defines your experience of it. If you hold the belief that something is dark, negative or evil, you will I have no doubt, experience it as such. Before you know it, you’ll be seeking help from other people holding a similar view and attempting to rid yourself of the ‘entity’ you have created in your own mind.

The ability of the human imagination to expand upon an idea seeded with fear is without question. Right through human history you will find examples of the struggle between dark and light that have contributed to this idea we are not safe. It is rooted deep inside our psyche and constantly re enforced. Religions reflect these beliefs and without the allegiance and protection of said religion will result in your soul being lost for an eternity to the dark forces. These ideas have found their way into modern mainstream thinking almost as part of our collective inheritance. From fairytales to blockbuster movies like Star Wars, the theme is light overcoming dark. No wonder then that we as practitioners have adopted the idea of a polarised universe and come up with many creative ways to deal with the perceived threat.

In my classes, I teach students to view energies good and bad as simply energy. Some will feel nice and some not so nice. The ability as a healer to empathise and feel the ‘hibiki’ (sensations) which allow you to be guided to the area most in need, relies on you being able to merge energetically with your client. Feeling what your client feels happens automatically as soon as you focus with intent upon them. It is at this point that many teachers and students pull back because the feelings may not be so pleasant. It is therefore I believe of great importance to prepare yourself correctly for a treatment and to learn to release afterwards.

My preparation method is as follows;

Grounding – a state of mindfulness of your physical body and the present momentPersonal State – awareness of what is happening for you today (Mind/Body/Emotion) scanGassho Meiso – connection to and manifestation of ReikiInvocation – Prayer stating intent and wellbeing of all concerned

Erecting a shield when you feel something unpleasant just serves to trap it within, stay open and let it go with some deep breaths.

If you are mindful of your own energy prior to a treatment then any change during a treatment will be a result of the interaction with your client.

Most of the times you feel depleted after giving Reiki is because you have invested yourself in the outcome. The trick is to allow Reiki to flow without getting in the way. You can’t push a river upstream.

View strong feelings that arise during a treatment as an indication of how present you are with your client in their process

Know that your safe and can release any unwanted feelings that have arisen during a treatment easily once your client has gone.

A really useful and easy to remember affirmation I use is the following;

“No person, place or thing can disturb my sense of peace and calmness within..”

7 thoughts on “Reiki and Protection”

protection or not……………. I went through a phase of being fearful of different thoughts about the different people and situations I came into contact with . I decided to question the thoughts and became curious to see if my thoughts matched the reality that was right in front of me, the example I will use is taking off in a plane . I find this a fearful experience so what a great time to experiment with that energy, as the plane started to take off my heart was racing and my hands were clammy, I said to myself ” feel it , feel it” the energy started in my feet and rushed up my body and came out my eyes as tears, I must say it was brilliant, I was still safe and I had moved out of a state of fear. I try this technique lots now, and the sensation seems to be the same. I believe I will look after myself and when something bothers me I will find what I need to help me grow.

Love this very sensible post, Richard. There’s always a lot of to-ing and fro-ing on the whole protection issue. I’m of the “Reiki is its own protection” school, but I love the way you’ve broken it all down into clear, concise bullet points

I think that how we practice depends on our experiences. I began ‘feeling’ energy because of martial arts (I was a bouncer for many years). It was there that I learned the valuable lesson not to depend on malevolent beings (human or otherwise) behaving themselves.

Our experiences certainly shape our beliefs. But why would you want to depend on malevolent beings? When two forces meet they just impact upon each other. When power meets a force, it can choose to respond in more ways than simply matching the opposing force. Being a bouncer unfortunately put you in a position of having to judge others for their suitability to enter an establishment, it’s perfectly set up to bring out the worst in people..

As an empath I have often experienced merging with other peoples energies, and have learnt when something is mine, and when it is not. Something I use during treatments, as often as I feel it needs reinforcing, is a mantra ‘I am enough and you are enough’. It comes from Hawaiian shamanic practice. It is a simple and gentle way to let those energies move through me without the need to understand what they are… just let them go. Let go.. and let Reiki